Gender discrimination and associated social norms are important contributing factors to the high frequency of women trapped in poverty - particularly in developing countries. Financial inclusion, ...especially access to formal saving services, has recently received much attention from the development community for its potential to lift women out of poverty and reduce inequality. To date, however, the impacts of social norms on women's ability to use and benefit from such formal saving services are not widely understood. The purpose of this paper is to advance the understanding of this relationship, by investigating, in a setting where social norms put women at a disadvantage, the association between their decision-making power with respect to a newly opened formal savings account at a bank and the amount of savings kept in that account. We use data on 1,798 married women in Pakistan, from an intervention to encourage savings account uptake among them. Focusing on the usage, 8 months after the intervention, of 512 newly opened bank accounts, we find that women with at least joint control over the bank account save statistically significantly more in this account than women without any control. On average, this difference amounts to 2,339 PKR (22.40 USD), which is substantial considering that the majority of women in our sample are from lower-middle income class households and are rarely the household's main income earners. This finding has important implications for future research, as well as for policy makers and practitioners providing financial services to women in gender unequal contexts.
We test whether stating the possibility of winning an unspecified prize (announcing undefined lottery prizes, AULP, henceforth) in the subject line of a survey invitation email increases contact and ...response rates. As adherence to Muslim cultural norms and Islamic religious values might negatively affect the response to lottery-style prize assignment, we further explore whether the magnitude of those impacts differs for respondents located in Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) member states. We also test for potential impacts of providing translations in a national/official language of the state the potential respondents’ organization is located in (in addition to the English default version) as well as for non-response bias and compromised response quality. To these ends, we conduct a unique randomized controlled trial on a global sample of over 5,000 key staff members of microfinance institutions. Our analysis yields four main results. First, on average, contact and response rates are significantly higher for the AULP treatment group. Second, we find intuitive regional heterogeneity in the impact of our treatment, i.e. AULP, between OIC member states and non-member states. Third, though our findings reveal a positive impact of providing translations in a relevant national/official language, in line with the literature on international survey research, translations do not generally boost AULP treatment effects, on average. Last, quality checks provide no evidence of AULP leading to non-response bias or lower response quality, as defined by various standard metrics.
•Transformation of agribusiness is needed to progress on SDGs.•FinTech may mitigate trade-offs in the transformation process.•Main challenges relate to underinvestment in physical and human ...capital.•Predicting the trajectory of FinTech applications requires more research.
Transformation of agribusiness is critical in light of the Agenda for Sustainable Development. FinTech and the integration of FinTech with other (green) technologies as well as with digitized agriculture plays an important role when it comes to, for example, SDG 12, specifically, responsible production, as it can mitigate trade-offs and enhance synergies between environmental and social SDGs, for example, 1 and 15, increasing profitability without additional use of natural resources. Important limitations and risks need to be addressed, however, for developing countries to fully benefit from the potential that FinTech holds in this context. Mitigating factors include massive infrastructure investments and large-scale capacity building. Rigorous research on economic sustainability and cost-effectiveness of newer FinTech models is needed to make sound policy recommendations.
OBJECTIVE:The pleiotropic cytokine interleukin (IL)-6 seems to play a pivotal role in sepsis, but contradictory findings in animal models impede a rationale for therapies directed against IL-6. IL-6 ...signals by two mechanisms via the ubiquitous transmembrane glycoprotein 130 (gp130)“classic” signaling using membrane-bound IL-6 receptor (IL-6R) and trans-signaling using soluble IL-6R (sIL-6R). Trans-signaling is selectively inhibited by soluble gp130 (sgp130). The aim of this study was to systematically compare complete blockade of IL-6 signaling (using a neutralizing anti-IL-6 antibody) and selective blockade of IL-6 trans-signaling (using a fusion protein of sgp130 and the crystallizable fragment of immunoglobulin G1, sgp130Fc) in a standardized cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) sepsis model.
DESIGN:Animal study.
SETTING:Animal laboratory.
SUBJECTS:C57BL/6J mice.
INTERVENTIONS:We performed a 96-hr dose-response study and a 24-hr study to investigate short-term mechanisms. In the 96-hr study, CLP was performed in 120 randomized mice (20 mice received vehicle, 10 mice per dose group). Mice were treated with equimolar doses of sgp130Fc (0.01/0.1/1/10 mg/kg) or anti-IL-6 (0.008/0.08/0.8/8 mg/kg) 24 hrs before CLP. Two additional groups received 0.5 mg/kg sgp130Fc 24 hrs before or 1 mg/kg sgp130Fc 24 hrs after CLP. Survival and activity scores were obtained daily until 96 hrs after CLP. In the 24-hr study, mice were randomized into four groups with 10 animals each (sham/vehicle, CLP/vehicle, CLP/anti-IL-6 0.8 mg/kg, and CLP/sgp130Fc 1 mg/kg) and killed after 24 hrs.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS:In contrast to anti-IL-6, pretreatment with sgp130Fc significantly and dose-dependently increased survival from 45% to 100%. In addition, 1 mg/kg sgp130Fc administered 24 hrs after CLP increased survival from 45% to 80%. Mechanistically, sgp130Fc efficacy was reflected by complete prevention of epithelial cell apoptosis in the jejunum after CLP, which was not achieved with anti-IL-6.
CONCLUSION:Selective inhibition of IL-6 trans-signaling by sgp130Fc has considerable potential for the treatment of sepsis and related disorders.
•New data set on Islamic MFIs.•Islamic microfinance more important than previously recognized.•Outreach of Islamic MFIs exceeds that of conventional MFIs.•Conventional MFIs show stronger financial ...performance.
Conventional microfinance institutions (MFIs) can promote financial inclusion, but they also prompt ethical concerns regarding the social consequences of commercialization and high interest rates. Islamic MFIs, which adhere to Sharia’s prohibition of riba (usually interpreted as a ban on interest), present an alternative. Differences between conventional and Islamic MFIs in terms of outreach and financial sustainability remain underexplored; no comprehensive data set details Islamic MFIs either. With new data, collected with a global survey, the authors construct a unique panel of 543 conventional and 101 Islamic MFIs, operating in Islamic and non-Islamic countries. These data suggest that the market for Islamic microfinance is more important than previously recognized, has grown in recent years, and is likely to continue growing in every region of the world. Statistical comparisons, using various estimation techniques, regarding the outreach and financial performance of Islamic and conventional MFIs also reveal that the breadth and depth of Islamic MFIs exceed those of conventional MFIs, though conventional MFIs achieve stronger financial performance. This latter result is not robust though.
We implement a randomized field experiment in Pakistan to evaluate three interventions designed to encourage poor Muslim women to open and use Islamic savings accounts. First, an intervention that ...increases religious salience by using a religious speech that highlights the purposes, benefits, and desirability of savings and dispels the misconception that all formal saving is impermissible in Islam, mainly by quoting directly from the Quran; in contrast to a conventional speech conveying the same information without quoting from the Quran. Second, a subsidy that covers the account opening fee; compared to no subsidy. Third, assistance with completing the account opening form; compared to no such assistance. We find that the subsidy and assistance encourage greater uptake, and that adding religious salience induced by the religious speech to these efforts prompts even greater uptake — far greater, in fact, than the combination of the conventional speech with subsidy or assistance. The most effective intervention, comprising a religious speech in combination with a subsidy and assistance, increases uptake by approximately 60 percentage points, compared to an approximate increase of 5 percentage points for either subsidy or assistance in combination with the conventional speech. On its own, however, the religious speech does not significantly enhance uptake compared to the conventional speech, indicating that financial as well as educational/administrative constraints, and high cognitive load, present insurmountable barriers to uptake in our context. Therefore, holistic strategies to increase savings account uptake, that recognize and engage with the religious context while at the same time addressing practical barriers, should be prioritized.
•Field experiment on uptake and usage Islamic savings.•Comparing three interventions.•Subsidy and assistance needed to promote uptake savings.•Adding religious salience enhances uptake further.
In recent years, academic and policy research has placed increasing focus on the study of the attitudes of the Muslim poor towards Islamic and non-Islamic (micro-)finance to inform financial ...inclusion strategies. Survey questions are a common way to measure these attitudes and have been included into large-scale surveys such as the Global Findex. However, survey-based measures that ask about non-Islamic finance in an Islamic context may be affected by social desirability bias. In this paper, we propose a possible solution to this issue. We conduct the first list experiment designed to measure attitudes towards the usage of non-Islamic financial products and services, with 2,145 poor Muslims from Multan, Pakistan. Our list experiment uncovers that 37 percent of our sample use non-Islamic finance, almost twice as many as respond affirmatively to a similar direct survey question. Using our rich survey data on demographics, socio-economic factors and religiosity, we are further able to document substantial heterogeneity in the magnitudes of underreporting this usage in the direct survey question and in the usage of non-Islamic finance. We conclude by discussing the significance of our results in terms of (policy) implications and for the measurement of the demand for Islamic finance.
► High resolution 3D- information on biomass distribution in tree crowns can be obtained from TLS. ► Crown structural parameters can derived from TLS. ► Effects of competition on trees shape can be ...measured with a TLS. ► Our competitive pressure model generates insight into interactions between tree crowns.
Interspecific competition is a key process determining the dynamics of mixed forest stands and influencing the yield of multispecies tree plantations. Trees can respond to competitive pressure from neighbors by crown plasticity, thereby avoiding competition. We employed a high-resolution ground-based laser scanner to analyze the 3-dimensional extensions and shape of the tree crowns in a near-natural broad-leaved mixed forest in order to quantify the direction and degree of crown asymmetry of 15 trees (
Fagus sylvatica,
Fraxinus excelsior,
Carpinus betulus) in detail. We also scanned the direct neighbors and analyzed the distance of their crown centres and the crown shape with the aim to predict the crown asymmetry of the focal tree from competition-relevant attributes of its neighbors. It was found that the combination of two parameters, one summarizing the size of the neighbor (DBH) and one describing the distance to the neighbor tree (HD), was most suitable for characterizing the strength of the competitive interaction exerted on a target tree by a given neighbor. By summing up the virtual competitive pressure of all neighbors in a single competitive pressure vector, we were able to predict the direction of crown asymmetry of the focal tree with an accuracy of 96° on the full circle (360°).
The competitive pressure model was equally applicable to beech, ash and hornbeam trees and may generate valuable insight into competitive interactions among tree crowns in mixed stands, provided that sufficiently precise data on the shape and position of the tree crowns is available. Multiple-aspect laser-scanning proved to be an accurate and practicable approach for analyzing the complex 3-dimensional shape of the tree crowns, needed to quantify the plasticity of growth processes in the canopy. We conclude that the laser-based analysis of crown plasticity offers the opportunity to achieve a better understanding of the dynamics of canopy space exploration and also may produce valuable advice for the silvicultural management of mixed stands.
We examine the ability of intergroup contact to ameliorate intergroup relationships in an entrepreneurial and developing world context. We provide a decision model of how an entrepreneur chooses to ...invest time to extend their professional network. The model accommodates two distinct channels and generates alternative predictions based on which is activated by intergroup contact. One is the knowledge of the necessary time investment to forge a network connection with a member of another group, and the second is the preference-driven disutility of that time spent with that individual. We employ randomized experiments to test whether actual and imagined contact effectively reduces prejudice between indigenous Malawian shopkeepers and their Chinese migrant counterparts and test the stability of these changes over time. Actual contact produced differing results. Local Malawians’ attitude toward Chinese migrants did not improve, but their willingness to spend time with them did. In contrast, actual contact led to improvement in the Chinese migrants’ attitude toward local Malawians but did not increase their willingness to spend time with them. Imagined contact had no impact on Malawians’ attitude toward or willingness to spend time with Chinese migrants. These results are consistent with contact activating informational channels more so than preference ones.
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